C-Mac
01-05-2005, 07:35 AM
Hope its not a repost.
http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2005/01/05/gretz_the_hole_was_too_deep/
GRETZ: The Hole Was Too Deep
Jan 05, 2005, 5:05:28 AM by Bob Gretz
There have been plenty of post-mortems and analysis on the Chiefs 2004 season over recent weeks and there will be more in the weeks to come. When a team dreams of Super Bowls and falls flat on its face, blame is not an orphan.
No, there were many fathers to the Chiefs disappointing 7-9 season. Some are obvious, others not quite so. Expect Carl Peterson, Dick Vermeil and their staffs to go over every inch of the landscape to define the problems.
And it’s not so much the problems, but the answers to the problems that the Chiefs seek in the coming weeks. For instance, let’s start with one of the obvious problems the team faced this year:
By starting the season 0-3 and then 1-4, the Chiefs dug themselves a hole that they were never able to escape from.
That is fact. The bad start sunk the Chiefs. In the 2004 season, teams with bad starts were not able to overcome them and make the field for the playoffs. There are a host of examples beyond the Chiefs.
Buffalo started the season 0-4 and then 1-5. But the Bills turned things around and won eight of their final 10 games. Buffalo was in the hunt for a spot in the playoffs down to the final game, which they lost to the Steelers. In the end, they could not overcome the poor start.
Carolina was coming off a Super Bowl season and began the season 1-7; it’s only victory coming against the Chiefs in week No. 2. But despite numerous major injuries, the Panthers turned their season around and went 6-2 over the second half. They too, were in the hunt for a spot in the playoffs and just couldn’t get over the hump. There was no margin for any more error.
The flip side of those teams like the Chiefs, Bills and Panthers was Minnesota. The Vikings started the season with a 5-1 record. They then lost seven of their last 10 games and four of their last five games. A victory in their season finale against Washington guaranteed them a spot in the playoffs, but they couldn’t even win that game and they ended up backing into a spot in the playoffs.
The New York Jets backed into a spot as well, thanks to the wave of a 6-1 start. They then went 4-5 over the last half of the season, including losing their season finale to St. Louis. They still made the playoffs when the Bills were eliminated from contention.
For all intent, the field for this year’s playoffs year was set at midseason. Check out the standings on November 8th, and there aren’t a lot of differences on January 2nd. In the AFC, New England and the Jets were on top the AFC East, Pittsburgh controlled the AFC Central, Indianapolis and Jacksonville were tied in the AFC South at 5-3, just as the Broncos and Chargers were tied in the AFC West at 6-3. Only Jacksonville did not make the playoffs.
Over in the NFC, it was Philadelphia easily on top of the NFC East, Minnesota led the NFC North by one game over both Detroit and Green Bay, Atlanta had a big lead in the NFC South and Seattle held the NFC West top spot by a game over St. Louis. Among all those teams, only Detroit is not in the playoffs.
This season, the Chiefs could not afford to start 0-3 and then 1-4. That’s the obvious problem. Now, what the Chiefs must define is this: why did the team start so poorly? What were the factors at work and what can be done to make sure that doesn’t happen again?
Every season is different, but one thing that remains the same is this: a quick start, a winning start increases the opportunities for a team to make the playoffs. It’s the only reason the Minnesota Vikings are still playing football.
And, it’s the reason the Chiefs are scattering to their homes to watch the post-season on television.
http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2005/01/05/gretz_the_hole_was_too_deep/
GRETZ: The Hole Was Too Deep
Jan 05, 2005, 5:05:28 AM by Bob Gretz
There have been plenty of post-mortems and analysis on the Chiefs 2004 season over recent weeks and there will be more in the weeks to come. When a team dreams of Super Bowls and falls flat on its face, blame is not an orphan.
No, there were many fathers to the Chiefs disappointing 7-9 season. Some are obvious, others not quite so. Expect Carl Peterson, Dick Vermeil and their staffs to go over every inch of the landscape to define the problems.
And it’s not so much the problems, but the answers to the problems that the Chiefs seek in the coming weeks. For instance, let’s start with one of the obvious problems the team faced this year:
By starting the season 0-3 and then 1-4, the Chiefs dug themselves a hole that they were never able to escape from.
That is fact. The bad start sunk the Chiefs. In the 2004 season, teams with bad starts were not able to overcome them and make the field for the playoffs. There are a host of examples beyond the Chiefs.
Buffalo started the season 0-4 and then 1-5. But the Bills turned things around and won eight of their final 10 games. Buffalo was in the hunt for a spot in the playoffs down to the final game, which they lost to the Steelers. In the end, they could not overcome the poor start.
Carolina was coming off a Super Bowl season and began the season 1-7; it’s only victory coming against the Chiefs in week No. 2. But despite numerous major injuries, the Panthers turned their season around and went 6-2 over the second half. They too, were in the hunt for a spot in the playoffs and just couldn’t get over the hump. There was no margin for any more error.
The flip side of those teams like the Chiefs, Bills and Panthers was Minnesota. The Vikings started the season with a 5-1 record. They then lost seven of their last 10 games and four of their last five games. A victory in their season finale against Washington guaranteed them a spot in the playoffs, but they couldn’t even win that game and they ended up backing into a spot in the playoffs.
The New York Jets backed into a spot as well, thanks to the wave of a 6-1 start. They then went 4-5 over the last half of the season, including losing their season finale to St. Louis. They still made the playoffs when the Bills were eliminated from contention.
For all intent, the field for this year’s playoffs year was set at midseason. Check out the standings on November 8th, and there aren’t a lot of differences on January 2nd. In the AFC, New England and the Jets were on top the AFC East, Pittsburgh controlled the AFC Central, Indianapolis and Jacksonville were tied in the AFC South at 5-3, just as the Broncos and Chargers were tied in the AFC West at 6-3. Only Jacksonville did not make the playoffs.
Over in the NFC, it was Philadelphia easily on top of the NFC East, Minnesota led the NFC North by one game over both Detroit and Green Bay, Atlanta had a big lead in the NFC South and Seattle held the NFC West top spot by a game over St. Louis. Among all those teams, only Detroit is not in the playoffs.
This season, the Chiefs could not afford to start 0-3 and then 1-4. That’s the obvious problem. Now, what the Chiefs must define is this: why did the team start so poorly? What were the factors at work and what can be done to make sure that doesn’t happen again?
Every season is different, but one thing that remains the same is this: a quick start, a winning start increases the opportunities for a team to make the playoffs. It’s the only reason the Minnesota Vikings are still playing football.
And, it’s the reason the Chiefs are scattering to their homes to watch the post-season on television.